The Rings of Power: A small trick with a big effect – this is how the actors become dwarfs

• Different races of different sizes meet in “The Rings of Power”.
• Elrond actor Robert Aramayo reveals the tricks used in the rock-breaker scene.
• The so-called forced perspective made the dwarves appear small and Elrond appear larger.

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‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ star Robert Aramayo explains how the dwarven scenes were filmed in Khazad-dum. They used a technique similar to that used in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films.

In the Amazon series, numerous peoples meet who differ not only in their languages ​​and customs, but also in their appearance. The most striking difference is the size.

When the Elf Elrond visits the dwarf Prince Durin in Khazad-dum for the first time in the series, a rivalry ensues between the two friends. For this scene, the perspective was used in particular to make the elf appear significantly larger next to the dwarves.

In an interview with “Vulture,” Elrond actor Robert Aramayo explains how they shot the rock slapping. It was probably mainly the actors in the background who were chosen to make Aramayo look as big as possible. Behind Durin actor Owain Arthur, on the other hand, there were people of the same height as possible, in order to let the dwarf appear according to his people.

Owain Arthur worked with background actors who were nearby to make him appear as tall as the gnomes around him. I worked with background actors standing further away to make me appear taller. In the scene where we smash rocks, it also worked in favor of our acting. Everyone stood close to Owain and cheered and celebrated with him. For me they were far away, that made the energy very different.

Robert Aramayo on Vulture

Peter Jackson also used this method, the so-called forced perspective, in his 2001 “The Lord of the Rings” films. Perspectives were used especially for the size differences between the hobbits and the other companions in the round. The sets were also adjusted accordingly in order to make everything appear true to scale.

For the Hobbit films, the decision was made not to use this technique, which was not well received by fans and actors. The dwarfs were often brought into scenes using CGI in which they appeared together with the much larger humans. As a result, it often happened that the actors stood alone in a set and talked to the air, since the interlocutors were added to the scene later on the computer.

All the more gratifying for viewers that the showrunners for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” are returning to the old method. According to Aramayo, too, the drama clearly benefited.

With this knowledge, a seemingly simple scene gains more meaning and makes you want more, because the dwarves will certainly not have met the elves for the last time. You can see how it continues with “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 1 every Friday on Amazon Prime Video.